Little Falls transcript., 1887-03-25

/ There, IN an open space not more thar !. I
twenty feet square, with 4 thicket q,
! three sides. I found the body. Decom
position had set In, Of course, and the
odor greeted my nostrils before my
eyes made the discovery. 81
. That murder had been committed
there could be no doubt The girl lay
on her back, her feet drawn up. her
clothing badly torn andin disorder, and
while one hand clinched q stout stick,
the other had a dying clutch on q. coat
button-just match for those left on
Will Grafton's coat. She had been
choked to death, and was horrible
sight, her eyes stood wide open, her
tongue out, and look of agony on her
bloated face. I examined the finger
nails and found blood and flesh under
them, left there as she iclawed the half
IDIOTS face and hand. On the ground
was q tobacco-box, whick he after
wards identified and boldly claimed,
A murder had been committed. and l
had discovered the murderer; but was
not as enthusiastic over it as you may
have imagined. He was a son q mill
lionaire, and the father would spend
his last dollar to save him. Riches
control public opinion and, in some in
stances, the verdict of juries.
After an examination lasting a quar-
ter of an hour and having carefully
gathered and preserved all possible
proofs, I set out to bring the coron er
and a jury. I had evidence enough to
warrant me in arresting Will Grafton
at once, but I felt that it would be
safer to 60 slow and wait for the opin-
ion of the jury. 1t was matter of
two hours before the officer and his
jury arrived, and all had not yet viewed
the body when Mr.. Grafton and two
or three others arrived in an excited
state of mind and announced that Fritz,
the coachman, had been captured, and
had partially confessed to the deed
This news was, as you may imagine, a
shock to me. l had not, in the first
place, heard that the coachman was
suspected, although he had gone off so
hurriedly. Mr.. Grafton had utterly re-
fused to point the finger OF suspicion
that way during our talk in the morn
ing, but had held to the theory that
the girl had run off with some gddy
companions to lead less respectable
career. His statement that Fritz was
probably guilty so upset me that kept
my proofs in my pocket and gave the
jury no hint. The inquest was adjourn
ed until evening, and was then re-
sumed at the house. while Fritz was
| present in charge of an officer. He
had been arrested at a town thirty
miles away, and attention had. been
first called to him by his attempt to
commit suicide by drowning. When
charged with the murder he did not
deny it. When pressed to make
confession he uttered a groan of de-
spair and replied:
''Maybe did, for have been crazy
for four or five days. Let me go and
kill myself"
When searched few shillings in
money and a pocket~knife and other
articles were found on his person. He
was free of wounds or bruises of any
sort, and no buttons were missing from
his garments. Before he was called to
face the jury I began to grope for the
cause of his fight. 1t could not be for
the murder of the girl, for he was inno-
cent It must be on account of ia
formation received in that foreign
letter. went at once to his room in
the barn, which no one had yet examin-
ed, and there found the envelope in
tact, but the letter torn into twenty
fragments and flung on the floor.
gathered up the pieces and pasted them
! together, and then had the clew to his
| actions. 1t was letter from his
mother in Germany, and it contained
two pieces of important news. First,
the mother, who was widow, had
been robbed of her every dollar by in
vestigating in some wildcatspeculation
on the advice of friends, and, secondly,
the girl whom Fritz expected to return
home and marry IN year had been
welded to another.
Fritz was made half crazy by the
news, and his sole desire seemed to be
to get out of the neighborhood as fast
as possible. The coroner, Mr. Graf.
ton, and myself held an interview with
him in private. The coroner was an
ignoramus, and he was only too glad to
surrender his ofticia: privileges to
Grafton, who eagerly accepted them. 1t
was plain from the start that he meant
to catch poor Fritz in tze toas.
':How could you do such horrible
thing?' he asked, as we were ready to
proceed. "Tell us all about it.
Fritz began weeping.
| Ibid you kill Jennie because she re.
fused to marry you? Yes, that was the
reason. You lay in wait for her in the
| woods.''
| Fritz kept up sobbing and moan.
ing.
II am sorry for you, and will do all
1 can for you, but the law must take its
course. Perhaps the jury will say tha,
you were crazy, and that you should
not be punished. I hope it will, TO,
you are a good man, and J. dom believe
you knew what you were doing. Well,
coroner, have you any doubts of the